Govt taking steps to ensure int’l conventions compliance

GSP Plus status

ISLAMABAD - Commerce Minister Engr Khurram Dastgir Khan on Friday said government is coordinating with representatives of all federating units of Pakistan to appoint focal persons for treaty implementation, amend existing laws and promulgate new ones to bring them in accordance with the international conventions Pakistan has to comply under GSP Plus.He said this while chairing a meeting of Treaty Implementation Cell (TIC). TIC was established on the directions of Prime Minister of Pakistan after the grant of GSP Plus to Pakistan by the European Union to ensure compliance with the international conventions.The representatives from four provinces, AJK and GB informed the chair about the progress they made to promulgate laws regarding women, children, labour and minorities’ rights, torture against the weak, elimination of racial discrimination and civil, political and economic rights. In most cases, local Human Rights directorate is established with the local law department which would oversee and ensure effective implementation of these laws. It was informed in the meeting that TIC was conceived as a monitoring, oversight and coordinating body to ensure timely provision of the relevant data information from the corresponding provincial departments etc. required by the Federal ministries on the specified format. The meeting confirmed that the Law Ministry had forwarded the templates on which provinces are expected to provide requisite information to federal ministries for preparation of consolidated reports for onward transmission to the UN monitoring bodies.Ministry of Commerce has set up a link on its website for all the relevant documents pertaining to UN Conventions, guidelines of the relevant UN monitoring bodies, templates of the reports, reservations by the Government of Pakistan as well as copies of previous reports sent to UN bodies.It was decided in the meeting that the Ministry of Commerce would also conduct seminars in consultation with other federal ministries and provincial departments concerned for raising awareness about the need for compliance with the international conventions. In this regard, federal ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Narcotics Control and National Health Services and Regulations would also be taken on board.Special Assistant to PM Khawaja Zaheer, Secretary Commerce Arbab Shahzad, Secretary Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Barrister Zafar Ullah Khan, representatives of the Law Departments of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, attended the meeting of TIC.